Hi all. I have the Shure drum mic kit with three 57s and the 52 bass drum mic. My son usually plays a 5 piece kit, but sometimes a 4. What is the best way to use this kit for live sound? We have been putting the mics on the bass, snare, and toms (sometimes borrowing another mic for the 5 piece kit), but this of course leaves out the cymbals. The band has been playing a lot of outdoor festival type things lately if that makes a difference.

Down the road I will purchase more mics as necessary, but for now, I would just like to know how to best use this mic kit for overall sound. I really want to get away from borrowing stuff and relying on others.

So what is the best way to use three 57s and a 52?

eclipseownzu

07-05-2013 02:57 PM

Re: Best way to use Shure 57-52 drum mic kit?

You are using the mics correctly, you just need to pick up a couple of compressors to use as overheads.

For smaller gigs you can use the 57 and 52 to just mic the kick and snare. For larger outdoor gigs you can try and move 2 of the 57s to the top and use them for overheads while still micing the snare and kick. I have found however that 57s are lacking as overheads due to their more unidirectional nature and the fact that as standard dynamic mic they dont pick up cymbal decay as well as compressors.

You can get decent compressor mics for pretty cheap, just remember that you will likely need phantom power for any compressor mic so make sure your board can support.

joshvibert

07-05-2013 06:43 PM

Re: Best way to use Shure 57-52 drum mic kit?

I have one of these kits and use it on our drums @ church. I use a Shure PG-81 as a single overhead and get a good sound. It can run on a battery, so you don't need phantom power either.

Bo Eder

07-05-2013 06:51 PM

Re: Best way to use Shure 57-52 drum mic kit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rpt50
(Post 1158108)

Hi all. I have the Shure drum mic kit with three 57s and the 52 bass drum mic. My son usually plays a 5 piece kit, but sometimes a 4. What is the best way to use this kit for live sound? We have been putting the mics on the bass, snare, and toms (sometimes borrowing another mic for the 5 piece kit), but this of course leaves out the cymbals. The band has been playing a lot of outdoor festival type things lately if that makes a difference.

Down the road I will purchase more mics as necessary, but for now, I would just like to know how to best use this mic kit for overall sound. I really want to get away from borrowing stuff and relying on others.

So what is the best way to use three 57s and a 52?

I've mixed bands using a bass drum mic, a snare drum mic and one overhead a lot and have gotten lots of compliments using that minimal set up. So try that. If you got a good pencil condenser for your overhead that'd be even better but what you have will do.

Try experimenting and working what you have more. There will always be more to buy and a pit to throw your money in ;)

larryace

07-05-2013 07:18 PM

Re: Best way to use Shure 57-52 drum mic kit?

Quote:

Originally Posted by eclipseownzu
(Post 1158113)

You can get decent compressor mics for pretty cheap, just remember that you will likely need phantom power for any compressor mic so make sure your board can support.

I think you mean condenser mics. But yeah, I'd rather have an overhead condenser than tom mics. The overheads will pick up the toms. and the cymbals.

Micing toms for a live outdoor is a waste of time IMO if you have a good pair of matched overheads. The overheads pick up the entire kit, except the bass drum.

I agree with this as well. I really don't like listening to bands that don't put up at least one overhead. If they play with any volume at all, then the cymbals and the overall tone of the kit get lost in the guitars. Your priority should be on the kick and overheads, then snare (to "fill in" what the overheads might not pick up), and then the toms. With the set of mics that you have, you should pick up a condenser mic or two.

Some options that I have used at one point or another:

cheap but decent: Samson C02 ($140/pair)

cheap and also decent: AT 2020 ($100 each)

pricier, good quality: Shure SM81 ($250 each)

expensive but worth it: Audix SCX25A ($1500/pair)

I personally have a pair of the C02's and a pair of AT2020's but I've been using the C02's more often. I usually put up one above my kit on the ride side of the kit pointing toward the snare drum (sometimes I put the other one up or use it as a hi-hat mic). I get pretty good coverage that way for my small kit (1-up 1-down with cymbals in the classic Bonham layout). I also don't roll off too much of the low end. Some people treat the overheads as "cymbal mics" and high-pass the low end at too high a frequency for my tastes. I high-pass the overheads at about 150hz to eliminate stage rumble. I want to hear the overall tone of the entire kit through the overheads and let the tom/snare mics add attack and low-end fullness.

We did a show last weekend where another band opened up for us and I got to hear my kit from the FOH during a full show instead of just during line check. It sounded great.

Shedboyxx

07-06-2013 02:06 AM

Re: Best way to use Shure 57-52 drum mic kit?

While researching Ed Greene, I drilled down to get to this article. It involves the use of SM57's - ONLY - to record the drums for the Hall and Oates single, "Sara Smile".

I'm not crazy about the drum sound on the track but it was a professional decision made that turned into a monster hit. Just saying that the sky's the limit if you are creative.

Thanks for all the replies. Right now I'm sort of shell-shocked at the cost of all of this stuff, and I want to hold off on buying anymore equipment for the time being. At some point I'll probably buy something specific for overheads, but not just yet.

If I get the gist of the comments below, it seems like I should try using a kick and snare mic, and then rigging the remaining two 57s as overhead mics for the time being. However, let me further ask this---the music my son's band plays is mostly covers of classic rock (Cream, Beatles, Hendrix) and even older stuff (Elvis P., Chuck B.), and blues standards done their own way. He plays a lot on the toms (like you hear in Cream), and it sounds really good when the toms have individual mics. Will we lose that sound with overheads? Is there some way to have the mics pick up more of the toms without actually being mounted to them, and still get some cymbals?